Mavis Malbunka

Through my experience of my Christianity, with my beliefs, I saw a vision. It’s real. God shows us if we’re in danger, and our life in danger.

We were getting ready for our ceremony here with five young people. That was during the violence between two tribes. Then other tribes here tried to keep them away from all the trouble, tried to keep them in peace, but other tribes would keep thinking of coming out to fight them. So, the family in Hermannsburg, they were in trouble in the same way because of our families here. Some of the young people…they rang up and told us, warned the family here, “Look after yourself. There are five cars with a load of people coming out your way.”

And men and women, they weren’t frightened, but they kept openly waiting for these men to arrive. But men, women, and children were hiding up on that ridge, on that sand dune. I was at the front house. When you first come in and you see there's a house there, that’s where I was, and Herman, and my other family. We were getting ready to have a Christmas dinner with those young men before they would go to the bush for ceremony. So, we were lucky we had a telephone in one of the family houses. And one of them went to tell us, “We’ve got to hide ourselves. There are five cars with people coming out to fight us.”

Then I just called them. I felt someone was with them. I felt that spirit came into my body to talk to them. “Come, we'll have a pray here. Come.” When we prayed, God showed us an angel. God put an angel to protect us. Well, some of them didn’t recognize…they knew it was, they thought it was just a cloud, but it was an angel. I saw the feather of that angel move.

When those men came, another family tried to stop them and take them back. They would keep coming out. And when they got to our turnoff, they couldn't see our road. They even saw this angel, but the angel was standing in front of them. That angel had a knife, but we didn’t see the knife. He was standing where the men were. And they couldn't see the road. Angel made that road all shrubs. They couldn't drive through; it was all shrubs. And they said to each other, “Where's the road?” They couldn't find it so they turned back. Next thing we saw was the track that they made when they spun right at our entrance. So that’s how strong God is. 

We were getting ready, through our spiritual way of beliefs, to have that ceremony, but God also showed how He really cared for us; that He didn't want us to be hurt or get hurt from those people. I said, “God, protect us. Our life is in danger. I know in any trouble that you are here to protect us. We have men, and women, and children here, and old people, who we are getting ready to have our ceremony. Please God protect us.” So, He did send an angel to protect us.